Let them offer their loyalty!

He understood! He truly did!

Yan Chen was using the tactic of "using minimal force to move a heavy object":

He deliberately made a big show of suspending Qiu Tu's confidant's duties!

And on purpose, he didn't touch anyone else!

This was to make Qiu Tu mistakenly believe he was pulling in one group and striking down another!
Find more to read at My Virtual Library Empire

Afterwards, he forced Qiu Tu to make a move!

Qiu Tu felt that Yan Chen was doing this for two possible reasons.

One was... he and Qiu Tu were officially falling out, so he was applying pressure to test Qiu Tu's bottom line. To see just how much leverage Qiu Tu really had over him.

The other, and most important... Yan Chen had calculated that given Qiu Tu's arrogant and tyrannical personality, joining forces with Qiu Tu, Tang Feifei, and The Five Elders could pose a threat to contend with him.

Then... he wanted to force Qiu Tu to escalate the situation.

At the cost of sacrificing face, he would label Qiu Tu as a "troublemaker," "insubordinate," and "disregarding the bigger picture."

The restructuring of various institutions was currently underway due to the establishment of Dongye State.

With such a label, Qiu Tu could forget about becoming the Head of the Political Department. He might even be directly banished to the far-flung Lengshui Yamen in this round of adjustments.

Thinking of this... especially after considering that he had indeed entertained the thought of making a big scene, Qiu Tu suddenly felt a cold sweat down his back.

'So insidious....'

'Such a master at manipulating human psychology, truly worthy of being Yan Chen....'

'If I get even slightly carried away, I'd probably make a move, probing or directly confronting him!'

'That would immediately play right into his trap!'

'He's deliberately forcing me to make a mistake!'

Thinking of this, Qiu Tu pondered even more...

'Today is the day when the Head of the Political Department position gets decided.'

'Yan Chen suddenly makes this move? Could this mean he actually lacks confidence in the situation at the Sanctuary?'

With that thought, Qiu Tu felt even more at ease.

Because he now knew the key to breaking the game!

He looked at the few confidants still standing in front of him, then smiled confidently and said, "Alright. I understand the situation. You all can go back now."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, his confidants looked at each other, clueless as to what conclusion he had reached after all this pondering.

In the end, it was the most unpredictable Song Qing who posed the question.

She looked at Qiu Tu, her curiosity piqued, and asked, "Chief, have you thought of a solution? Do we need to do anything to assist you?"

Hearing Song Qing's words, Qiu Tu said with a smile, "Indeed, I have thought of a solution."

Song Qing, eager to know more, inquired quickly, "What solution?"

Qiu Tu replied calmly and steadily, "Patience!"

"In such a changing situation, the more you do, the more mistakes you make."

"Therefore, we need to stay calm. We need to patiently wait for the storm to pass, wait for the sunshine to appear."

Hearing Qiu Tu's words, Cao Dabiao, Ah-Kun, Li Xian, and the others looked at each other, clearly somewhat confused.

Only Chen Feng and Eagle seemed thoughtful, as if they had realized something....

After a moment, Chen Feng asked, "Chief, how long are we waiting?"

Qiu Tu replied calmly, "Wait until my appointment arrives."

"Wait until I take office as the Head of the Political Department!"

"The Head of the Political Department is appointed by the Sanctuary, one of the nine high-ranking officials of the Investigation Bureau!"

"Even the Bureau Chief of the Investigation Bureau cannot alter the work of the Head of the Political Department, nor suspend his duties!"

"By then, it will be our time for a counterattack from dire straits!"

"I will lead you all back to the Political Department! To reclaim everything we lost!"

"Head of the Political Department?" Perhaps because Qiu Tu had never openly revealed his ambition for the role, several confidants couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, then looked astonished....

...

Half an hour later.

In the office of the Bureau Chief of Xinjie City Investigation Bureau.

Yan Chen looked at the Deputy Head of the Political Department, Cai Peiyuan, and asked indifferently, "No reaction from Qiu Tu?"

Cai Peiyuan awkwardly chuckled twice, nodding, "Yes. His confidants found him early in the morning."

"But he only had them in his office for half an hour."

"Then he gave them a Little Goldfish, telling them to relax and enjoy themselves while they're suspended from duty."

Hearing Cai Peiyuan's words, Yan Chen chuckled, "Heh heh... interesting, very interesting. He really does know how to keep his cool."

While saying this, he drooped his eyelids, then said, "Since it's like that, go get a copy of the division of labor adjustment document from Director Yu and take it to him with Old Zhang."

"Tell him that from today onwards, apart from the Supervisors' work that still belongs to him, everything else, like the Intelligence and Interrogation Sections, will be divided between you and Zhang."

Hearing Yan Chen's words, Cai Peiyuan hurriedly saluted and responded, "Yes!"

Another half hour passed.

Cai Peiyuan and Zhang Jian indeed brought the division of labor adjustment document to Qiu Tu's office for the work handover.

But to their surprise, Qiu Tu seemed to have already prepared everything. He had organized all the data, files, and summaries from the Interrogation and Intelligence Sections and handed them directly to the two men.

This caught them somewhat off guard.

As the secretary carried the materials out of Qiu Tu's office, Cai Peiyuan looked back at Qiu Tu, who was studying the 'Supervisors' report, and whispered to Zhang Jian, "Director Zhang... Is there something wrong with Qiu Tu?"

Zhang Jian glanced at him, then said, "I'll take the Intelligence Section."

"You take the Interrogation Section."

Cai Peiyuan:...

...

10 minutes later.

In the office of Yan Chen.

Upon learning that Qiu Tu had readied all the materials and files early on.

Yan Chen let out a deep breath.

It was as if he started to accept his own failure, slowly closing his eyes.